Coerced Confessions

Monroe County, AL

Brian Baldwin

Mar 14, 1977

Brian Keith Baldwin, a black male, was executed for the
torture and murder of 16-year-old Naomi Rolon, a white female. On Mar 12,
1977, Baldwin, 18, and Edward Dean Horsley, 19, escaped from a youth
detention center in North Carolina. Within hours of their escape, the two
hitched a ride with Rolon in Hudson, NC, and drove to Alabama. Presumably
Rolon went to Alabama involuntarily as her original plan was just to drive
across town. Baldwin got out in Alabama and stole an El Camino pickup
truck, while Horsley drove off with Rolon. The two males may have planned
to release Rolon and drive away in a car Rolon could not identify. Rolon
was subsequently found murdered, and a day afterwards, Horsley and Baldwin
were captured by police.Read More by Clicking Here

Pulaski County, AR

Barry Lee Fairchild

Feb 26, 1983

Barry Lee Fairchild was convicted of the kidnapping, rape, and
murder of a 22-year-old Marjorie “Greta” Mason. Mason was a white Air
Force nurse and a former homecoming queen. Six days after the murder
and after the media had reported many details of the crime, the police
received a tip from an unnamed informant, a man described in police files as
inaccurate about half the time, with a tendency to exaggerate. He
named Barry Lee Fairchild as one of the culprits.Read More by Clicking Here

Duval County, FL

Leo Jones

May 23, 1981

Leo Jones, a black man, was convicted of the sniper killing of
white police officer Thomas Szafranski, 28, and sentenced to death. The main witness against Jones later recanted. Two key officers in the
case had left the Jacksonville Police Department under a cloud, and
allegations that one of them beat Jones before he supposedly confessed had
gained credence.

A retired police officer, Cleveland Smith, came forward and
said Officer Lynwood Mundy had bragged that he beat Jones after his arrest. Smith, who described Mundy as an “enforcer,” testified that he once watched
Mundy get a confession from a suspect by squeezing the suspect's genitals in
a vise grip. He said Mundy unabashedly described beating Jones. Smith waited until his 1997 retirement to come forward because he wanted to
secure his pension.

More than a dozen people had implicated another man as the
killer, saying they either saw him carrying a rifle as he ran from the crime
scene or heard him brag he had shot the officer. Even Florida Supreme
Court Justice Leander Shaw, who formerly headed a division of the state
attorney's office, wrote that Jones's case had become “a horse of a
different color.” Newly discovered evidence, Shaw wrote, “casts
serious doubt on Jones's guilt.” Shaw and one other judge voted to
grant Jones a new trial. But a five-judge majority ruled against
Jones. Jones was executed one week later in the electric chair on
March 24, 1998. (Chicago
Tribune) [11/05]

Gulf County, FL

Lee & Pitts

Aug 1, 1963 (Port St. Joe)

Wilbert Lee and Freddie Pitts, both blacks, were convicted of
the robbery and murders of two white gas station attendants. While no
physical evidence linked them to the deaths, the prosecution used their own
confessions, which were beaten out of them, and they also used the testimony
of an alleged eyewitness. The defendants also suffered from having
incompetent defense counsel.

A few weeks after they were sentenced to death, a white man,
Curtis “Boo” Adams Jr., was arrested for killing a Fort Lauderdale gas
station attendant during a robbery. Adams subsequently confessed to
the murders for which Lee and Pitts were convicted. When he learned of
this confession, the local sheriff, Byrd Parker, wanted nothing to do with
it, saying, “I already got two niggers waiting for the chair in Raiford for
those murders.” A polygraph examiner who had heard Adams confess took
the matter to the press, and soon a new trial was ordered, at which Lee and
Pitts were again convicted.

Some time after the second conviction, the alleged eyewitness
recanted her testimony and the state attorney general admitted that the
state had unlawfully suppressed evidence. The defendants were released
in 1975 when they received a full pardon from Governor Askew, who stated he
was “sufficiently convinced that they were innocent.” The ordeal of
Lee and Pitts is detailed in the book Invitation to a Lynching by
Gene Miller. In 1998, the Florida Legislature awarded the defendants
$500,000 each in compensation. (FLCC) (Time)
[7/05]

Leon County, FL

Quincy Five

Sept 18, 1970 (Tallahassee)

After Khomas Revels, an off-duty deputy sheriff, was murdered
during a robbery of Luke's Grocery store, Tallahassee police charged five
black men from Quincy, Florida with the crime. One of these men, David
Keaton, was an 18-year-old star football player with plans to enter the
ministry. Although he had an alibi, Keaton was held in custody for
more than a week. During that time he maintained he had been
threatened, lied to, and beaten until he confessed. He believed that
despite his confession, no jury would convict him when they heard his alibi. He was wrong. At trial his coerced confession was buttressed by the
false testimony of five eyewitnesses. Keaton was convicted and
sentenced to death. In his confession Keaton implicated Johnnie
Frederick, who was “clean as a whistle,” in the belief that a judge and jury
would see that his confession was false. Frederick was convicted as
well and sentenced to life in prison.

David Charles Smith and two other Quincy defendants still
awaited trial. In the meantime, a witness arose, Benjamin Franklin
Pye, who knew the actual men who committed the crime. The men were
from Jacksonville, not Quincy, though Pye knew only their street names. But he knew the motel where they had stayed, the dates, and the rental car
they drove. He was with them when they cased Luke's to rob it later. Pye gave this information to his attorney, who in turn relayed it to Smith's
attorney, Will Varn. Varn was a former U.S. attorney, and he was able
to get funds from the judge to hire an investigator who came up with names
to fit Pye's story. The names also fit the crime scene fingerprints
that had not matched any of the Quincy Five. The three Jacksonville
men were tried and convicted.

Despite the new evidence, the state continued to insist the
Quincy Five were guilty as well. When Smith came to trial, five white
eyewitnesses swore he was guilty. But Varn had the conflicting
fingerprints and convictions, Pye's testimony, and a good alibi for Smith. An all-white jury acquitted him. The Florida Supreme Court took note
and ordered new trials for Keaton and Frederick. The prosecution soon
dropped charges against Keaton and Frederick, as well as against the
remaining two Quincy defendants. Keaton and Frederick were released in
1973. In 1974 Tallahassee writer Jeffrey Lickson published a 142-page
book about the case entitled David Charles: The Story of the Quincy Five.
(SP Times)
(TWM)
(FLCC) (SPT1)
(SPT2)
(OSB)
(Papers) [3/07]

Cook County, IL

Fowler & Pugh

Sept 5, 1936

Walter Fowler and Heywood Pugh (aka Earl Howard Pugh) were
convicted in 1937 of the murder of William J. Haag, a Railway Express Agency
driver. Haag was stabbed to death on South State Street in Chicago during
an apparent robbery. At trial both men testified that their confessions to
the crime were beaten out of them. Fowler was sentenced to 99 years in
prison and Pugh was sentenced to life imprisonment. Fowler died in 1948. In 1953, the police detective, George Miller, who had obtained Fowler's and
Pugh's confessions, inadvertently allowed an attorney working for Pugh to
see a manila folder containing statements from two eyewitnesses to Haag's
murder. These eyewitnesses identified another man, Eddie Leison, as Haag's
killer. Because of this evidence, Pugh was exonerated and released. In
1955, the Illinois legislature awarded Pugh $51,000 for his wrongful
imprisonment. (CWC)
[9/07]

Cook County, IL

House of Torture Victims

1973 - 1993

Lt. Jon Burge and his fellow detectives at the Area 2 & 3
Police Station on the Southside of Chicago tortured at least 60 persons
between 1973 and 1993. The types of tortures used included Russian
roulette, cigarette burns, electrical shocks, suffocation, radiators,
telephone books, sticks, beatings, cattle prods, and threats. It took
the specific case of Andrew Wilson in 1982 to finally bring the truth to
light. Jon Burge and his detectives had gone overboard by leaving
obvious signs of bruises all over Andrew Wilson's body. An OPS
investigation led to the Goldston Report, which stated and confirmed a
systematic pattern of torture and abuse by detectives under the supervision
of Jon Burge. In 1993, Burge was allegedly fired and two detectives
were suspended. However, Burge receives his full pension and benefits.

Those tortured include the Death Row 10: Madison Hobley,
Leonard Kidd, Aaron Patterson, Andrew Maxwell, Stanley Howard, Derrick King,
Ronald Kitchen, Reginald McHaffey, Leroy Orange, and Jerry McHaffey. Frank Bounds is an 11th death row inmate tortured but he is now deceased. Gov. Ryan has pardoned four of the Death Row 10. (CCADP)
[9/05]

Cook County, IL

Leroy Orange

Jan 11, 1984

Leroy Orange was sentenced to death for the murder of Renee
Coleman, 27, Michelle Jointer, 30, Ricardo Pedro, 25, and Coleman's
10-year-old son, Tony. Orange confessed to the crimes after being subjected
to beatings, suffocation, and electroshock by Lt. John Burge and other
officers at the Chicago Area Two police station. Orange subsequently told
everyone he came in contact with that he had been tortured: his cellmate, a
physician, relatives and friends who visited him, his public defender, and
the arraignment judge. Orange's half brother, Leonard Kidd, implicated
Orange in the murders while being tortured at Area 2. However, Kidd
testified for Orange against his attorney's advice admitting that he alone
committed the murders without Orange's participation or knowledge. Governor
Ryan pardoned Orange on Jan. 10, 2003. (CWC)
[8/05]

Cook County, IL

Stanley Howard

May 20, 1984

Stanley Howard was sentenced to death for the murder of Oliver
Ridgell. Ridgell was shot and killed as he and Tecora Mullen sat in
Ridgell's car. The car was parked in front of an apartment building at 1343
W. 92nd St., around the corner from Mullen's home. Ridgell and Mullen
both were married, but they had been having an affair for some time. Mullen told police she would be able to identify the killer, but after she
looked at police books with photographs of suspects she was unable to say
any of them resembled Ridgell's killer. She was also unable to help a police
sketch artist draw a composite of the perpetrator.

Six months later, Howard, who had no known acquaintance with
either Ridgell or Mullen, confessed to the murder after he said it was
beaten out of him by Chicago Area Two detectives. Howard had been
taken to hospitals before and after his confession. Medical records
showed that he had new injuries including bruises on his left leg that
matched his description of police mistreatment. Nevertheless the judge
refused to bar his confession at trial.

According to Howard's confession, he fired three shots at
Ridgell. Most tenants in the apartment buildings near the scene of the
murder were still asleep when it occurred. Those that heard anything,
heard only one shot. One tenant heard a man say, “I told you, I
would get you.” Another heard a woman say, “Don't hurt him. Just take
me home.” The tenants' statements were withheld at trial. In a
lineup, Mullen tentatively identified Howard, saying he “looked like”
Ridgell's killer. However, at trial Mullen was positive Howard was the
killer. She also said that her lineup identification had been
positive. In a later interview, when asked about her identification,
Mullen said she was in an alcoholic haze in the years before and after the
murder. “I drank a fifth of liquor every day for 10 years. I couldn't
hardly remember anything.”

In 1991, the Illinois Supreme Court found that a trial error
had occurred, but ruled it harmless because “the evidence of the defendant's
guilt was overwhelming.” In 2003, Gov. Ryan disagreed and granted
Howard a pardon based on innocence. (CWC) (Chicago
Tribune) [8/08]

Orleans Parish, LA

Johnny Ross

July 1974

Johnny Ross, a 16-year-old black juvenile, was convicted at a
three hour trial and sentenced to death for the rape of a white woman. The
trial consisted of the prosecution's claim that Ross had signed a confession
after the victim had identified him. Ross maintained that he had signed a
blank piece of paper after his interrogators beat him. On appeal, his death
sentence was commuted to a term of years. Years later tests revealed that
the rapist's semen did not match Ross's blood type. Based on this new
evidence, the New Orleans DA agreed to drop charges and Ross was released
from prison in 1981. (DPIC)
[7/05]

Cole County, MO

Missouri State Seven

Sept 22, 1954

During a prison riot at Missouri State Penitentiary, the
prison's most notorious stool pigeon, Walter Lee Donnell, was murdered by
one or more inmates. Donnell had testified against many members of a St.
Louis armed robbery clique including Irv Thomas. These obvious suspects
were not even questioned about Donnell's death. Instead, the leaders of the
riot were tortured into confessing to the murder. When a smaller riot
occurred in October, its leader was also tortured into confessing. The
prison authorities wanted to send a message: “Cause trouble and you will be
forced to confess too.” All seven were convicted of the murder, but a look
at the evidence gives little reason to believe the confessions. The real
killer, Irv Thomas, had his sister release his confession to the killing
upon his death in 1981. (Crime
Magazine) [9/05]

Bronx County, NY

Joseph Barbato

Sept 15, 1929

Joseph Barbato was sentenced to death for the murder of Mrs.
Julia Musso Quintieri. The victim was found by her six-year-old son,
Joseph, upon his return home from Sunday church. Quintieri was reported as
being Barbato's common-law wife. Police said Quintieri, 25, had roomed one
time at Barbato's lodging house at 3215 Fifth Ave. but had moved to 2403
Cambreleng Ave. in the Bronx where she was strangled after rejecting
Barbato's advances. Barbato contended his confession to the crime was
coerced, a contention that police denied. However, the Court of Appeals
overturned his conviction in 1930 due to evidence that his body was covered
with bruises and his eyes were blackened. Charges against Barbato were
subsequently dropped. (News Articles) (People
v. Barbato) (MOJ) [9/05]

Bronx County, NY

Arthur Barber

1965

Arthur Barber was convicted of the murder of Elijah Williams,
a neighborhood numbers runner, and was sentenced to life in prison. In
1975, nearly ten years after Barber's arrest, a federal judge released
Barber on the ground that police obtained his confession to the crime with
severe beatings and “a pattern of lawlessness that shocks the conscience.” Police denied beating Barber, but the judge said the “brutal treatment” was
supported by medical reports, court documents, and witnesses. The judge
also found that police had arrested Barber without probable cause,
questioned him for an extended period before arraignment, refused to allow
him to call a lawyer, failed to advise him of his right to remain silent,
and searched an apartment for the murder weapon without a warrant. (News
Article) (Innocent)
[1/10]

Bronx County, NY

Bronx Five

1984

In 1984, five men were arrested and subsequently convicted for
sexually abusing 20 toddlers at three New York City funded day care centers
in the Bronx. All the convictions were overturned on appeal. Police
investigations used techniques on children to produce false testimony and
implanted memories. One defendant, Alberto Ramos, was convicted in 1984
after police used torture to extract a confession. He was cleared in 1992. He later filed a lawsuit and was awarded $5 million in 2003. In 1986, Rev.
Nathaniel O'Grady was also convicted of child abuse. At his trial, one of
the child witnesses apparently had not been coached enough and he identified
the judge as his abuser. O'Grady's conviction was overturned on appeal in
1996. Albert Algarin, Franklin Beauchamp, and Jesus Torres, were also
convicted of child abuse in 1986. Their convictions were overturned on
appeal. (Gauntlet)
(Religious
Tolerance) (FJDB) [11/07]

Kings County, NY

John Valletutti

Oct 11, 1945

John Valletutti was sentenced to death for the murder of Pfc.
Leo Conlon, a 30-year-old disabled paratrooper who was home on leave. The murder occurred during an attempted robbery of a bar and grill at 5011
Avenue L in Brooklyn. After another man, William Cronholm, was
arrested for the crime, he first said he committed the robbery alone, but
later said he committed the robbery with two others. Cronholm said he
implicated others solely to stop lengthy police questioning. He said
he had only recently met his two accomplices. He did not know the name
of the getaway driver, and the guy who accompanied him into the bar he only
knew as “Johnny.” At his trial Cronholm went back to his original
story of committing the robbery alone.

Police investigated Cronholm's background and found out that
he knew a John Valletutti, 19, who had once been arrested for car theft. Thirty hours after taking Valletutti into custody, police had their second
confession to the crime. Valletutti maintained that he only confessed
after he had been brutally assaulted by police. No independent
evidence connected Valletutti to the crime. Cronholm testified in
Valletutti's defense that he committed the robbery alone. Alibi
witnesses testified that Valletti was playing shuffleboard several miles
from the scene. After convicting Valletutti, the jury recommended
mercy, but the trial judge sentenced him to death. Prosecutor James
McGough later said that while the jury was deliberating, he had offered
Valletutti the opportunity to plead guilty to second-degree manslaughter, a
charge that carried a maximum sentence of 15 years. Valletutti
declined the offer, insisting he was innocent.

Valletutti's conviction was reversed by the NY Court of
Appeals which found that his confession was of doubtful reliability due to
the evidence of the wounds he received while in police custody and to the
lack of other evidence implicating him in the crime. Charges against
Valletutti were subsequently dropped and he was released from imprisonment
in 1948. (News Articles) (The
Innocents) [7/09]

Kings County, NY

Samuel Tito Williams

Apr 20, 1947

Samuel Tito Williams was sentenced to death for the murder of
15-year-old Selma Graff. Graff was fatally bludgeoned by an intruder
about 2 a.m. in the bedroom of her home. She lived at 143 East 96th
St. in the East Flatbush section of Brooklyn. Graff's 9-year-old
brother, Donald Graff, shared her room and struggled with the intruder
before being clubbed into unconsciousness. Donald described the
intruder as a 5'5" white man who simpered or giggled. The murder
touched off one of New York City's biggest manhunts.

Five months after the murder, police arrested 18-year-old
Williams for a series of alleged burglaries. He reportedly was
inclined to giggle. After police questioning, Williams confessed to
the Graff murder and identified a flashlight found at the scene as his own. However, Williams was not a 5'5" white man, but a 6' tall black man. Following Williams' confession, eight police officers involved with the case
received rewards in the form of promotions, added pay, and certificates of
commendation. Eleven officers on the case were awarded $50 government
bonds during an eight-course banquet sponsored by the Pitkin Avenue
Merchants Association.

At trial the victim's brother identified the killer as a white
man, but later said he “was all mixed up.” Williams testified that his
confession was obtained under duress. He said detectives had was
beaten him with “a blackjack, a rubber hose, and a club,” and that they also
burned him with “lighted cigarettes and cigars.” The jury convicted Williams
of murder with a recommendation of mercy. However, trial judge Louis
Goldstein imposed a death sentence. Governor Dewey later commuted
Williams' death sentence to life in prison. In 1963 the U.S. Court of
Appeals vacated Williams' conviction after ruling that his confession was
coerced. In 1973 New York City awarded Williams $120,000 for his false
arrest and the malicious prosecution he suffered. (NY
Times) [7/09]

Monroe County, NY

Tyson & Duval

May 25, 1973

Betty Tyson and John Duval, both blacks, were convicted by an
all white jury of murdering Timothy Haworth, 52-year-old white businessman
from Philadelphia. Tyson confessed after being handcuffed to a chair and
beaten and kicked by police for 12 hours. A Rochester reporter found a jail
counselor who reported her 1973 beating to his superiors the day after it
occurred. No physical evidence linked Tyson to the crime, and her car tires
were different than the killer's tire tracks. One of two teenage witnesses
said police put a gun to his head and said they would kill him if he did not
testify against her. Both witnesses were held as material witnesses in jail
for seven months until her trial and threatened with being charged with
murder if they did not perjure themselves. The detective who handled her
case was convicted in 1980 of faking evidence in another case. Tyson and
Duval were released in 1998 and 1999. Tyson was awarded $1.25 million. (FJDB)
(Justice: Denied)

Philadelphia County, PA

Bilger & Sheeler

Nov 23, 1936

Philadelphia patrolman James T. Morrow was murdered while
tracking down a suspected robber who had been terrorizing the northeast
section of the city. Police, in efforts to solve the murder, arrested and
extracted confessions from three different men over a several year period. Two of the men were convicted and sentenced to life in prison before being
exonerated.Read More by Clicking Here

Philadelphia County, PA

Robert Wilkinson

Oct 5, 1975

Robert Wilkinson, a mildly retarded man, was convicted in 1976
of the arson murders of five people. At 3:25 a.m. on Oct 5, 1975
someone used a Molotov cocktail to firebomb the home of Radamas Santiago. The Santiagos, who lived at 4419 North 4th Street, were then asleep in their
home. Radamas and one of his sons, Carlos, survived. Radamas's
wife, three of his children, and Luis Caracini, a guest in the house,
perished in the fire. At the time of the firebombing, 14-year-old
Nelson Garcia, a friend of the Santiagos, was sleeping on their front porch. His hair aflame, Garcia fled from the house, looking for a fire alarm.
Garcia saw Robert Wilkinson in an automobile stopped near the Santiago home. Because Wilkinson was the first person he saw, Garcia assumed that Wilkinson
had thrown the firebomb. He accused Wilkinson, who police then
arrested. Garcia later elaborated that he had seen Wilkinson throw a
bottle with a burning cloth onto the Santiago porch.Read More by Clicking Here

Sumter County, SC

William Pierce

Dec 1970

William “Junior” Pierce was convicted of raping and murdering
Margaret “Peg” Cuttino, 13, the daughter of a state senator. Cuttino
was reported missing on Dec. 18 and her body was found on Dec. 30. Pierce, who had an IQ that “barely broke 70” and who was a known serial
confessor, confessed to this murder apparently after being tortured by
Sheriff “Red” Carter. A document supports Pierce's contention that his
confession was coerced by physical abuse consisting of burns, bruises, and
cuts to his “privates.”

In order to convict Pierce the prosecution theorized that
Cuttino was murdered on Dec. 18, but when her body was found, the sperm
evidence was not much degraded and this evidence implied that she was not
killed before Dec. 25. Public disagreement with the verdict arose
starting with an uncalled witness who allegedly saw Cuttino on the afternoon
of Dec. 19. The county coroner joined the opposition. Because of
new evidence that arose following the conviction, it is highly likely that
Pierce would be acquitted if he could get a retrial, but getting a retrial
because of new evidence is very difficult under South Carolina law. New technology raised the possibility of DNA testing, but the authorities
contend Hurricane Hugo destroyed the biological evidence in 1989.

Pierce is not a glamorous defendant, having been convicted,
after confessing, of three murders in Georgia, perhaps because of techniques
similar to those used by Sheriff Carter. Public opposition to the
verdict seems surprising since an acquittal would do little to free Pierce,
but physical evidence that Cuttino was killed much later than Dec. 18 seems
compelling and such a finding would exonerate Pierce. (CrimeLibrary)
[9/05]

Angelina County, TX

Robert Carroll Coney

Mar 7, 1962

Robert Carroll Coney was convicted of robbing a Safeway
supermarket of $2,000. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. Police
tortured Coney into confessing by crushing his fingers between the bars of
his holding cell. Judge David Wilson wrote that the former Angelina County
sheriff, Leon Jones, and his deputies “were known for obtaining confessions
by physical force.” One of his tactics, he wrote, “was to get a prisoner's
fingers on either side of a jail cell bar and squeeze those fingers until a
prisoner confessed.” The lawyer who was called in to oversee Coney's
predetermined guilty plea stated, “That sheriff was the most terrible
sheriff we ever had.” Coney was imprisoned for 42 years before his
conviction was vacated in Aug. 2004. Four of his fingers are still
deformed. (NY
Times) (Archives)

Spain

Valero & Sánchez

Aug 21, 1910

On Aug. 21, 1910, in the small town of Osa de la Vega, in the
province of Cuenca, José María Grimaldos, known as “Shorty,” was seen for
the last time. He was on a road to the nearby village of Tresjuncos. His family feared foul play and reported his disappearance to the Civil
Guard (police). During the investigation the family and others
expressed their suspicions that two shepherds, Gregorio Valero and León
Sánchez had killed him for his money. This investigation was closed in
Sept. 1911 without any indictments.

In 1913 a new judge by the name of Isasa arrived. Influenced by the local boss and right-wing politician, the judge reopened
the case. The two suspects were arrested by the Civil Guard and, under
torture, they confessed they killed Grimaldos, cut his body up, and fed it
to pigs. The “fiscal” (DA) asked for the death penalty. The case
took its time in the court system, but on May 25, 1918 a popular jury
convicted the defendants of murder. They both were sentenced to 18
years in prison. Both were released on account of a general pardon on
Feb. 20, 1924 after serving eleven years of imprisonment.

Two years later, the priest of Tresjuncos received a letter
from the pastor of Mira, a town about 100 miles distant, requesting the
birth certificate of Grimaldos so that the same could marry. The
priest had been one of the strongest supporters of the guilt of Valero and
Sánchez and decided not to respond. Time passes and Grimaldos,
impatient at the lack of a response, traveled to Tresjuncos and marched
straight into the village. Grimaldos' presence in the village caused a
sensation. Some thought they were seeing a ghost and the local judge
had him arrested. However, it became apparent that Grimaldos was who
he appeared to be.

With much legal difficulty, the case against Valero and
Sanchez was reopened and, after much delay, their convictions were
overturned. In 1979, a movie entitled El crimen de Cuenca (The
Crime of Cuenca) was made based on the case. The movie was
initially banned in Spain because the torture scenes in it are depicted in
great detail and crudity. However, in 1981, the movie was allowed to
be shown in Spain and became a box office success. (ECDC) (PE)
(EC)
(Wiki) (PM)
[11/07]

Libya

Libyan HIV Six

1998

“A Palestinian doctor and five Bulgarian nurses, who were
doing aid work in Libya [were] accused of deliberately infecting 438
children with AIDS HIV-tainted blood at the El-Fatih Children's Hospital in
Benghazi, Libya's second city. They were arrested in February 1999, and
protested their innocence. Thirteen other Bulgarian medical workers
arrested at the same time were eventually released. The six co-defendants
confessed to infecting the children, but they all retracted [their
confessions], claiming they had been physically tortured into making them. They were charged with murder with a lethal substance among other lesser
charges. Their trial began on February 7, 2000 in the People's Court, and
two years later, in February 2002, the court declared it did not have
jurisdiction to try them on the murder charge, and their case was
transferred to the criminal court system. Their second trial began on July
8, 2003. They were convicted of the murder charges and on May 6, 2004 were
sentenced to death by firing squad.”

“In the face of widespread international condemnation of the
fairness of the trial, in December 2005 their appeal was successful and a
retrial was ordered. Their third trial began in May 2006. The six
co-defendants were again convicted of the same charges in December 2006, and
again sentenced to death. Their convictions and sentences were upheld by
Libya's Supreme Court on July 11, 2007. Six days later Libya's High
Judicial Council commuted the sentences to life in prison, reportedly after
European Union countries agreed to compensate Libya approximately $1 million
for each of the 438 children. Libya agreed to transfer the six to Bulgaria
to serve their sentences, including the Palestinian doctor who was granted
Bulgarian citizenship a month earlier on June 19, 2007. After arriving in
the capital of Sophia on July 24, 2007, Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov
granted the six full pardons on the basis of their innocence of the crimes. Six weeks later, on August 10, 2007, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of
Libya's leader Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi, admitted that the confessions by
the six were extracted through torture with electric shocks and threats
against the safety of their families.” –
FJDB

China

She Xianglin

Convicted 1994

After having an argument with him, She Xianglin's wife, Zhang
Zaiyu, went missing. Several weeks later police found the body of an
unidentified woman in a local pond. Police interrogated Xianglin for 10
days, during which he was also tortured. Xianglin confessed to murdering
his wife and was sentenced to death. His sentence was later reduced to 15
years imprisonment, after a higher court in the province (Hubei) overturned
the verdict due to lack of evidence. Several of Xianglin's family members
were also jailed for advocating his innocence or claiming that they saw
Zhang alive after the authorities alleged she was dead. In March 2005,
Zhang turned up alive and had merely run away from her marriage. She had
remarried in a remote village in eastern Shandong province, unaware of the
fate of her former husband. Xianglin was released. One of the officers who
allegedly took part in Xianglin's torture hanged himself when authorities
began an investigation into the incident. Xianglin and several family
members were awarded 450,000 Yuan ($55,500) for wrongs committed against
them. (FJDB)
[12/06]

China

Zhao Zuohai

June 1997

Zhao Zuohai was convicted of murdering his neighbor Zhao
Zhenshang. In June 1997, the two Zhaos, both about 45, had a hatchet
fight in their hometown of Zhaolou village in Zhecheng County, Shangqiu City
Prefecture, Henan Province, China. Four months later Zhenshang's
nephew reported to police that his uncle was missing. In May 1999,
after a headless body was found in a village well, Zuohai was arrested for
the murder of Zhenshang and detained without trial for three years.Read More by Clicking Here

Japan

Tatsuhiro & Keiko

July 22, 1995 (Osaka)

Shimada Tatsuhiro and his common law wife, Aoki Keiko, were
both sentenced to life imprisonment for the arson murder of Keiko's
daughter. On the day of the alleged crime, Tatsuhiro filled the gas
tank of his van before returning to his home in the Higashi-Sumiyoshi ward
of Osaka. Ten minutes later he smelled smoke and noticed a small fire
in the garage under his van. Tatsuhiro searched for a fire
extinguisher, but the fire quickly grew and spread. Keiko's daughter
died in the fire after being overcome by smoke in a first floor bathroom. Keiko had 15 million yen life insurance policies on both her children. Life insurance on children was not uncommon, but 5 million yen and 10
million yen policies were more typical. The couple had no financial
difficulties at the time of the blaze.Read More by Clicking Here